Matt Walsh: “I’d Rather Iran Have a Nuke Than My Country Be Run by Communis

Daily Wire host Matt Walsh said he would rather Iran have a nuclear weapon than see the United States run by communists, as he blamed the Iran war for the Republican Party's sweeping losses in Tuesday's midterm elections.

"I'd rather Iran have a nuke than my country be run by communists," Walsh said in a clip posted by the Daily Wire on Wednesday morning. The clip drew hundreds of thousands of views and a heated reaction across the conservative online world.

Hours earlier, as results showed Democrats taking control of both the House and the Senate, Walsh wrote on X that the Iran war was "the greatest political blunder in the last two decades at least," calling it "a catastrophically stupid decision" and "an unforgivable betrayal of America First principles."

In another post, he said the conservatives who had called the war a mistake, warned that affordability was a real problem and stuck to America First "were exactly right on every point." He also called the results "a political catastrophe of historic proportions" and said the party needs entirely new leadership, adding that no one should be spared blame, "starting at the top."

Walsh has been a critic of the war since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February. In March, his posts questioning the administration's shifting justifications drew a public response from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who laid out the administration's goals, including guaranteeing that Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon.

Exit polling suggests the war weighed heavily on voters. According to NBC News and other outlets, 34% of voters said the Iran conflict was a crucial factor in their congressional vote and 40% called it a major factor. Some 62% said using military force against Iran was the wrong decision. President Trump acknowledged in a phone interview with Fox News that "part of it was Iran" and conceded the conflict had pushed up gasoline prices, which hurt Republicans at the polls.

One of the night's notable upsets came in Ohio's 7th Congressional District, where Democrat Brian Poindexter, a union ironworker and Brook Park City Council member, unseated Republican Rep. Max Miller in a district Trump won by 11 points in 2024. The race tightened after Miller's ex-wife, Emily Moreno, accused him of abusing her and their young daughter, allegations Miller denies. Her father, Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio, said Miller lacked the character to serve. Poindexter, who has acknowledged past misdemeanor convictions for assault and disorderly conduct, tied Miller to Trump and argued that rising prices were the result of tariffs, the Iran war and other administration policies.

Walsh's nuclear remark drew sharp reactions online. Some supporters agreed that a left-wing government posed a greater danger to Americans than Iran ever could. Critics called the comparison a false choice, warning that a nuclear-armed Iran would endanger the United States, Israel and other allies. Others argued that commentators who attacked the war from the right helped depress Republican turnout, and some mocked Walsh as "crashing out."

The debate reflects a deepening divide on the right over the war, between those who see stopping Iran's nuclear program as essential to American and allied security and those who argue the conflict came at too high a political and domestic cost.